Daily Water Rituals in All Forms: Liquid, Gas, Solid

Wash my face (turn off the faucet while washing)

Brush my teeth (turn off the faucet while brushing)

Heat water for my tea or coffee. Watch steam water vapor rise (filtered water from my kitchen               faucet)

Drink many glasses of water each day (filtered water from my kitchen faucet)

Refill my cat’s water bowl (filtered too, why not!)

Water my plants (about 25 of them, my own indoor jungle, green all year - regular tap water plus water recycled from boiled egg water, steamed vegetable water, whatever good water I can save— still need to collect from shower water too)

Watch frozen water out my window, bright white snow, dazzling icicles.

Take a shower (chlorine filter, low flow shower head not yet installed – guilt. Appeased by only             showering for a short times a few times a week, not every day.)

Wash dishes (using the smallest amount of water possible, as if camping in an arid region as I've seen in the dry mountains of Mexico with the Huichol tribe. I imagine them and others with little water as I wash, although I am fortunate to live in a moist region) 

Islands and the Sea

            The radio announces a story about the islands of Kiribati, its people anxious as they watch the sea levels rise around them, spill into their dominion. The coral reefs die, the water approaches, they try to hold it back with granite boulders. But "water wins" is one of my mottoes. These small islands are the canary in the coal mine, their anxiety the herald of things to come. I should go there with my camera and document it or find others who are. This is a story we should all be watching.

More info: Climate Change and Kiribati

Water Fowl in Winter

           Watching the sunset on the lake, 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but the sea gulls don’t seem to care. They float tranquilly in a large gathering. One cadre swims steadily upstream, moving fast compared to the ones who sit still. Is there a reason they move this way? Are they the patrol group? The ones who get cold if they’re still? All I can do is guess based on human patterns, with no idea about sea gulls in water in winter.

            As I drive away I see the lake source cooling building uphill, wonder if its outflow is warmer and that’s why the sea gulls congregate right here. It was very controversial when it was proposed, taking in the lake water to cool the huge university campus. People were concerned it would raise the lake temperature with the warmed water it cycled back into the lake. The gulls might be a sign of the outcome.

            For no apparent reason, I think of the constructed wetlands built at the Omega institute. Maybe because it is the opposite of this building, since it was designed to have a definite positive effect on water, not just to save money for a big institution. When I think of the Omega wetlands, I get the idea of making short video vignettes of “Ways Water Works,” positive, possible, inspiring. Why not?

            Apologies for not writing in a while.  My vacation ended, my Mexican water stories dried up, so to speak and my primary vocation began again, teaching video production. Water is my passion that haunts me all the time.